Alongside the Big Guns

Rotorua-born actor Cliff Curtis, 40, has been in Los Angeles promoting his latest film, immigration drama, Crossing Over and re-shooting Eddie Murphy’s comedy A Thousand Words, in which Curtis stars as charismatic spiritual leader Dr Sinja. Curtis has played a range of ethnicities in Hollywood. In Crossing Over, he is Iranian-born American citizen Hamid Baraheri, a dedicated immigration enforcement agent. In the paranormal thriller Push, Curtis, with his lopsidedly handsome face and dancer’s grace, is a roguish mutant called Hook Waters. But in Crossing Over, he takes on a certain solid, weighty physicality as a good man at a moral crossroads, conveying integrity despite a terrific internal struggle. “It’s an excellent role. He’s also conflicted because he takes great pride in upholding the law. He’s an honorable guy,” he says. USA Today writes in a review of Crossing Over that “lesser-known actors such as Curtis … come across better than such veterans as [co-stars] Harrison Ford and Ray Liotta.” Curtis’ first feature film role was in the Oscar-nominated film The Piano.


Tags: A Thousand Words  Cliff Curtis  Crossing Over  Los Angeles Times  Rotorua  The Piano  USA Today  

Pirate Comedy Deserves Another Season

Pirate Comedy Deserves Another Season

Cancelled after two season, Taika Waititi’s “silly comedy” Our Flag Means Death “deserves one more voyage”, according to Radio Times critic George White. “ was meant to be sacred…